Jewish cuisine in Rome has left us recipes that are famous and mockingly simple to make, but sometimes full of pitfalls. For example, this recipe with only two ingredients can be too dry or too soft, it depends a lot on the cook’s experience.
I especially love it because it is tasty and, if less oil is used, even healthy.

Anchovies with endive

  • Preparation time: 30 minutes + endive preparation
  • Ingredients for 4 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy recipe

  • Ingredients
  • 1 lb 8 oz or 700 gr of fresh without fishbone and headless anchovies
  • 1 lb 8 oz or 700 gr white curly endive
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 bunch of parsley
  • Extra virgin olive oil to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  1. Instructions
  2. Wash the endive 2-3 times and dry it in a clean cloth. Cut the endive into julienne strips. Place it in a colander with a little salt and a weight over it for about two hours to extract the vegetation water from the endive.
  3. Chop the parsley and the garlic clove.
  4. Prepare the anchovies by wiping them dry.
  5. Grease a baking pan with oil and spread a layer of endive, about a third, and over a layer of anchovies. Season with salt and pepper and chopped parsley. Spread another layer of endive, also about one third of the total, and over a layer of anchovies. Season with salt and pepper and chopped parsley. Finish with a layer of endive.
    Season with oil.
  6. Bake in a hot oven at 400°F for about twenty minutes.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  • The endive must be of a nice light green, the leaves too dark and the head with the coriaceous core must be eliminated.
  • As a weight for draining the endive, I use a small pot full of water.
  • If you do not have the time to drain the water, it is better to cook the endive chopped in a pan with some oil for 10 minutes and then remove all the vegetation water before placing it in the baking pan.